Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government’s plan to
build a greenfield capital city Amaravati has hit a green hurdle, with
the Centre’s forest panel rejecting the proposal which lacks a suitable
land-use plan and a compensatory afforestation scheme.
The
proposed new capital which will come up on the banks of river Krishna
between Vijayawada and Guntur, may now have to fight a legal battle
before its construction begins.
Chief
Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had sought forest clearance for diversion
of 13,267.12 hectares of forest land in favour of Andhra Pradesh Capital
Region Development Authority (APCRD) for building the city, which is to
come up at an initial cost of Rs 27,000 crore.
A revised proposal
regarding the same, was submitted on April 25. The Forest Advisory
Committee (FAC) — the highest body in the Union Environment Ministry
that assesses proposals for diversion of forest lands — examined the
Andhra Pradesh government’s revised proposal on July 12.
“In a
recent meeting, the FAC examined the proposal. It heard the state
government’s request to exempt the land-use plan, among others. After
detailed deliberation, the FAC asked the state to submit the detailed
land-use plan,” a senior Environment Ministry official said.
Reacting
to this Naidu said he was confident of clearing all hurdles, and the
construction of the new capital would not be affected in any manner. The
minister had even discussed the special status for Andhra Pradesh with
the Prime Minister, during his recent visit to the capital.
The
state government was informed that the purpose-wise breakup is of
particular significance in decision-making. On whether to permit the
diversion of entire forest land sought, or whether smaller land could be
utilized; or whether no land would be permitted for the activity, the
official said.
The FAC has also asked the state government to
clarify as to how much land has been sought for Amaravati city and for
the Andhra Pradesh capital region, separately, the official said.
The
main opposition, YSR Congress Party led by Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, has
been attacking the project, calling it a land-grabbing scheme. It is
alleging that parts of the new city is being built on flood plains of
Krishna River without any scientific study, and could be disastrous in
the future.
Top real estate firms, meanwhile, are predicting that Amaravati property prices will match those of other top cities in India.(With PT